Growing Closer
by ImagineRepublic
Summary: "His arms around her, his hot breath tickling her ear, his body so close to hers."Beth first saw Daryl when he came to the farm, and slowly she befriended him. They grew closer, and became more than either of them had ever expected. But in the middle of the apocalypse things never seem to go as they're suppose to. Takes place in Season 3
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead**

***Prologue***

Beth couldn't remember her life before the apocalypse; what it was like going to the mall, hanging out with friends or even going to school each day. That was her past life, her old life that she would never get back. When the apocalypse began, the news was telling everyone that the safest place was the city, but soon after the connection was lost and the city was overrun. The Greene family refused to leave their quiet ranch that had been in the family for generations. They had been hiding away quietly on their farm in Georgia, which was fine in Beth's opinion. Everything was fine until months later when two men came running up to the house with a young injured boy, that's when her life changed…maybe for the better.

Soon after the boy had been brought into the house. Beth learned his name was Carl, and he had been shot in the shoulder by Oscar who had been staying with the Greene family. Her father, Hershel, was a veterinarian but he was able to extract the bullet and help bring Carl back to full health. While that was going on more people had showed up on the farm, such as Carl's mother, two women, an older man, and three younger men, one whose name was Daryl. For some reason the name Daryl stuck in Beth's head, the man seemed secluded and had some anger issues but was willing to protect those he traveled with. She got started to get to know everyone and enjoyed their company. Her sister, Maggie seemed to be getting along very well with the young man named Glenn.

As the days wore on, Beth found herself getting back into a daily routine that almost seemed normal. She talked to everyone except Daryl; he was always out looking for Carol's daughter, Sophia. Carol seemed pleasant but was either hiding away upset about Sophia or making an effort to help Lori with something. Beth had talked to Dale and T-Dog once, while they were attempting to fix Dale's beloved RV, and she believed that the motor vehicle was his pride and joy. Shane was a bit crazy in her opinion; he always wanted to be in control and was ready to give up the search for the missing young girl. Lori was the over protective kind of parent it seemed, and soon after she arrived it was announced that she was pregnant. Andrea was willing to help when she was needed but would rather be shooting a gun in the woods.

Beth was getting antsy around Daryl; he kept looking at her when she would walk by. He always had his cross bow hanging off his shoulder and would grunt when people bothered him. Once, while Beth was up in her room making her bed she heard yelling and a gunshot, and when you hear that it's never a good thing. Looking out her window, she saw Rick and Shane carrying a limp Daryl. For some reason seeing the young man like this troubled her, it was like there was a rock sitting in the bottom of her stomach.

_Why am I so worried about him all of a sudden?_ She thought to herself as she made her way down the stairs. She peered into the room where Carl had spent a few days, and she saw Daryl lying unconscious on the bed. Beth quickly turned around, walked out of the room and started helping Lori prepare dinner for everyone. The young girl watched her sister and Glenn interact as she opened a can, careful not to cut herself. She had done that enough to her wrists right after the apocalypse started. All the plates were set, and everyone sat down when Beth finally found out what happened to Daryl.

"Daryl should be fine in a few days, as long as he gets plenty of rest." Hershel explained to Rick.

"He won't like being under bed arrest." Rick responded as he finished chewing. He chuckled to himself.

"Well whether he likes it or not, he will have to stay in bed." Hershel concluded. Everyone went back to eating what was probably the best meal they had in weeks. Once the food had been moved from the plates to everyone's stomachs, the women collected the plates and silverware, brought them outside to clean them. The Grimes family retired to their tent for the night, while Andrea and Shane were on guard duty. T-dog, Carol, and Dale all headed to the RV, while Glenn stayed behind to talk to Maggie. Beth decided to head upstairs to room overlooking the yard and the barn.

The next few days went by normally, or as well as it could for being in the middle of an apocalypse. That's when it went downhill for everyone, Shane found that the barn was full of walkers and went ballistic. He opened the doors and shot the walkers as they came stumbling out, soon the others joined in until all of the dead were truly dead. Beth saw her mother shot down, and she started crying hysterically into her father's arms. Then out came Carol's daughter, Sophia…the poor mother was sobbing into Daryl's shoulder. Rick went and ended the young girl's misery. Everyone stood there in silence for a few moments.

The farm was quiet again for a short time as everyone tried to go on with their business, funerals were held and sweet words were said about the dead. Again, the peace didn't last long at all. More and more walkers swarmed the farm; it was every man for himself. Sounds of screaming, gun fire, and moaning did not help Beth focus on where she needed to go and how she was going to get out of this mess. She felt a tugging on her sleeve and she was pulled into a car by her father, and the car pulled away from the farm now being overtaken by walkers. She didn't notice that were down a few people, all she thought of was that brown-haired motorcyclist. 

**I wrote this story for my friend Hysteria0. She loves Beth and Daryl together. I had this idea and it kept bugging me so I wrote it down. I hope you liked, let me know in the reviews. **

**Also I don't have a beta but my friend who is an awesome writer (even though she disagrees) checks it over for spelling and grammar issues. I have the first 5 chapters planned out but don't know when I will get to post them so enjoy the prologue for now!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead**

**Chapter 1: Life in Prison**

Beth never thought she would end up caring for a newborn that wasn't even hers, in a prison somewhere in Georgia. Judith was an adorable child to and it made Beth realize that if they weren't in the middle of an apocalypse, then when she was older, she wanted a child of her own. It made her think even more about life; she had plenty of time to do that nowadays. Who would she have married? What would they look like? Where would her wedding be? How would her life have turned out? One name kept popping into her head when she had these mental conversations with herself: _Daryl_.

When she thought of him, shivers went down her spine. To an outsider they would see this as an odd pair because they are so different. She was quiet, had a slim figure, a smaller more appropriate vocabulary. Daryl was impulsive, buff, and had a tendency to swear around anyone and everyone. Since Judith came along Daryl seemed to become softer, or at least that's what it looked like to Beth. She liked seeing the soft side of him, especially when he would feed the young child. It showed that he wasn't the kind of guy who only cared for himself. Beth always silently chuckled to herself when he would walk around holding Judith referring to her as "little ass-kicker".

Beth thought of herself as Judith's caretaker and sometimes second mom. Rick was rarely around, Carol was missing, and Maggie and Glenn were off doing who knows what. She was not used to taking care of such small children. She had babysat before but this was different. Beth felt like a new single mother who had no idea what to do. She was the youngest child and treated as such, being babied much of her young life.

She wasn't great at hunting or shooting a gun but she could manage and hold her own. Some days Beth wanted to go out on a supply run with the men but even if they allowed her to go her father and half-sister would not agree.

"Please can I go on just this one supply run?" Beth pleaded with her father.

"No! I don't want anything to happen to you. It's much safer here; just let the men do it," Hershel sighed, knowing his daughter didn't like the answer he was giving.

"Then how come Maggie can go? I have been stuck in this prison for months! I know you want to protect me but if I don't get any shooting in then what happens if the prison falls and I don't have anyone to protect me?" Beth demanded, practically screaming at her dad now. She didn't mean to, but with having nothing to do aside from watching a baby gave her time to think about many things. What if something happens and she can't protect herself or others because she ever got to practice?

"Girl, ya oughta listen to yer pops. He jus' wants to protect ya; if it makes ya feel better I can teach ya a few things when we return," Daryl responded putting a hand on her shoulder. Beth couldn't be mad at him for agreeing with her father.

"Alright, fine," Beth walked away back to her cell that she now calls home.

"Thank you, Daryl." The old man said as he stared at his daughter's retreating figure. Daryl just grunted and walked towards the door.

Beth sat on her bed wondering what Daryl was going to help her learn. They couldn't practice shooting a gun because it would waste bullets and the sound would attract walkers. Her mind wandered to what may happen with this teaching. His arms around her, his hot breath tickling her ear, his body so close to hers. She snapped out of the daydream when she heard her name being called.

"–th…Beth! Are you even listening to me?"

"I know you wanted to go with Daryl and Rick, but it's safer here," _Great, now Maggie is being an overprotective parent_. "If it makes you feel better, Rick never allows Carl to go, and Carol never goes."

"It doesn't really but thanks for trying." Beth looked at her sister who just smiled at her and then walked away. She truly admired her sister, she was able to protect herself and others, keep her emotions in check, and was able to get a boyfriend in the middle of an apocalypse. Other times though it seemed as though Beth was just a tag along or extra baggage to the group. This was mainly why she wanted to go on a supply run, was so she could prove that she is worth something and can take care of herself.

About an hour later, the men returned with a trunk full of supplies. Beth went out to help bring in the bags, it was almost like when she was younger and she would help her mama bring in the groceries. _Shawn was chasing Beth to the house; they were having a race while carrying the groceries in, Maggie was just laughing along with Hershel. Of course Beth had won, Shawn let her win but he wouldn't tell her that._

Lately Beth had been having flashbacks of times before the world went to Hell. It was mostly of her mother, step-mother, step-brother, and boyfriend. Her mother was lost before the walkers showed up but after when they lost the farm it was when she lost two more important people. Now she had what she considered a new family, she had her dad, it seemed like she had even more siblings, maybe an uncle and aunt. A was like a family reunion in this prison. Beth laughed to herself thinking of her old family and if they had been stuck in this prison instead of the people now. Her uncle wearing his Hawaiian shirt, his wife complaining it was too musty, both her cousins running most likely tripping down the stairs for the fifth time.

After the car was emptied and everything was securely shut, the group made their way to the open space where they sat around and talked about plans for what the next step was.

"We have enough supplies to last us about two weeks, and then we will have to get more. The plants are growing well but won't be ready to harvest for another three weeks or so." Rick said to the group.

"Plus we still are weeks away from winter." Hershel responded. Beth looked up at Daryl, who was feeding Judith, she smiled at the way he held her and was talking to her like she could actually understand him.

"It's late, so I will be heading to bed." Maggie commented as she headed towards her 'room'. Glenn got up and followed her; soon everyone had dispersed into their rooms. Beth made her way to her bed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

**I would like to thank everyone who followed or added it to their alert subscription! It makes me very happy! I would also like to thank Hysteria0 for editing this. It's not my best chapter but I hope you like it. **

**Enjoy! **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead **

**Chapter 2: Carol**

Beth woke up to people shuffling around and some crying, the teenage girl slowly got out of her bed and made her way to where Judith sleeps. The baby had tear tracks running down her face, so Beth picks her up and rocks her back and forth until she calms down. Beth fixed a bottle with the formula Rick had picked up on the last supply run. Beth's mind kept going back to yesterday when Daryl said he would help her with protecting herself. As she walked out of the cell she could hear her father Hersheland Daryl discussing, something important but Beth couldn't tell what it was.

"I ain't got time to be discussing this old man," Daryl exclaims to Hershel. Beth notices he was gripping his crossbow tightly, she wonders what got him all upset. She starts to notice his body language and how he was acting in certain situations.

"I know Daryl; it's just that going alone looking for her is a risky move. We need your skills here and we can't risk something happening to you." Hershel responds. Beth slowly figures out who they were talking about, it was about Carol. The woman has been missing for a few days now; they had recently found T-Dogs body being eaten by walkers. Beth likes Carol as an adult figure but wonders what is going on between her and Daryl. She doesn't like being the jealous type but she also doesn't like lying either, so she can't say she isn't slightly jealous of the older woman and her closeness to Daryl.

"Listen, I don't give a damn about your opinion, if I ain't back in 6 hours then y'all can say 'I told you so' alright?" Daryl snarls and walks away. At this point everyone is use to Daryl's attitude, he tends to shout a lot and he is rude but he also has his nice moments. Beth likes how he sometimes shows his soft side, and also his personality.

Beth made her way to the makeshift kitchen, and grabs a granola bar with oats and bits of chocolate. She also grabs a water bottle; she prefers these over the water they get from the well. Then while daydreaming about Daryl she makes her way over to Judith to change the little tyke's foul smelling diaper. Beth can already tell it was going to be a long day…

~Growing Closer~

About an hour had gone by and still no sign of Daryl, Beth knows he could take care of himself but she is still allowed to be worried. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when Carol comes back, she knows that the woman has a little thing for Daryl. Beth doesn't want it to turn into a cat fight over a guy; relationships are the last thing that should be on someone's mind during an apocalypse. Beth just kept herself busy trying not to think of Daryl, Carol, or anyone else that could distract her.

Soon after Beth occupies herself, Daryl came in carrying a half conscious Carol; her father goes into doctor mode. He starts checking her over and making sure she is not injured.

"She is going to be ok, the only thing is she is dehydrated and malnourished," Hershel told everyone standing nearby after he checked her over. The motorcyclist came back over and carries the skinny woman to her bed in the farthest cell. This reminds Beth of a time when she was a young girl and had gotten lost in the woods behind her house after playing a game of hide and seek with Shawn and Maggie.

_Beth, where are you? The game is over, you can come out now. Maggie have you found her yet?" Shawn was wandering the woods looking for his younger sister with Maggie, their father and mother would be very upset. The older kids knew that too, they both tend to be overprotective of their young half- sister. _

_Fifteen minutes after they started searching for Beth, they found the young girl under a tree almost as if she fell asleep. _

"_Beth, wake up. You need to go back to the farm with us." Maggie was shaking the girl who slowly woke up, she responded groggily,_

"_What time is it?"_

"_It's about one in the afternoon; we have been searching for you. What happened?"_

"_I was hiding in a tree and I heard all this noise coming from outside the property and I was coming to the house but I tripped and twisted my ankle so I tried calling out but no one was responding and I must have fallen asleep waiting." _

"_Alright kiddo let's get you back to the farm." Shawn lifted Beth up like a bride and carried her back to the house. _

Beth subconsciously rubs her ankle before she walks over to baby Judith's improvised crib, picking her up and rocking her back to sleep. Beth starts thinking about what Carol had been doing to get lost somewhere in the prison, it had been her and T-Dog but he must have distracted the walkers while Carol got away. It is hard to think about losing another person that was a big part of the group.

It was roughly lunch time now, not that anyone could actually say what time it was but you could tell from the way the sun was sitting almost directly above them in the sky. Rick decides that everyone should eat lunch together to help bring back some normality. Daryl refuses to eat lunch so he was on guard duty. This action made Beth's heart sink a little, she was hoping that he would stay and talk to the group and be more social. Maggie went around giving everyone a sandwich which consisted of wheat bread, peanut butter, and either jelly or fluff. Beth ate it slowly trying to enjoy it and make it seem like she was back at school at lunch time sitting with her friends.

"Carol, how are you feeling?" Hershel asks as the woman walks out of her cell.

"I have had better moments," she responds.

"Carl go get Carol some water please," Rick spoke to his son as he stood up to let Carol sit, she sat down on the bottom step of the stairs. Beth watches as Carl gave the injured woman a cup of water and soon after Daryl walks in with a small smile on his face. The young girl couldn't help but feel a little jealous, he rarely ever smiles and when he does it usually towards Carol. Beth told herself that she needs to get over it; she has more things to focus at the moment; like watching over Judith and being walker bait.

**I want to thank everyone again! It means a lot to me that people are enjoying this. Sorry about the wait, I have been busier than I thought I would be. Most updates will be far about but I will try to update about 3-5 times a month. I also enjoy talking about the latest episode or any episode in general so PM me if you want to chat. **

**Torijamison****-Thank you! **

**hearts-without-chains****- Thank you! I am glad that you are excited to see the development, I don't want to rush into it but in a few chapters you see more bonding ;)**

**DarylDixon'sLover-**** Thanks!**

**Cemmia-Thanks! Don't worry I have many more chapters planned out!**

**Starzee- I will have to use that idea later on if you allow me! Thanks! Haha I love how on the show she doesn't really act like she likes him but you can feel the connection, but that's just me. **

**I also want to thank Hysteria0 again for her help. **


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead**

Chapter 3: New Member

Days went by uneventful, and Carol had gained some weight back and she started moving around more often. Now the group seems whole again, nobody is missing or hurt. Beth notices that sometimes someone would tell a story about before the apocalypse, the most recent one was told by Hershel and his days as a veterinarian.

"_I had a client coming in with her pet parrot at about 10:30, and it was around 10 so I figured I had time to go to the closest store and pick up a hot coffee. I was able to get there and back in about 15 minutes, and when I came back the client was waiting in one of those plastic chairs having an interesting conversation with her parrot. I called her into my office and closed the door behind her; I allowed the parrot to fly freely for a minute while I talked to the woman. Not even a minute later I felt something dripping down the side of my face, I looked up and noticed my client looked horrified. She had started apologizing like crazy, how she felt bad that her bird pooped on my head. I just started laughing saying it wasn't the first and won't be the last. That comment made her feel better and chuckle a little but she apologized again anyway. I continued the check up and once they left I was able to scrub my head better. Being a veterinarian you tend to get bit, scratched, pooped on, peed on, and everything in between, but it's worth it." _

Beth is laughing silently to herself, it wasn't the first time she heard that story. She was looking at the different people currently sitting around the table, most of them are laughing too. Daryl too has a smile on his face; he then looks over at Carol to see her smiling. This gesture gets Beth thinking, what if she needs to move on from Daryl? Yeah so he was a bit older, but it's not an unusual difference. Plenty of Hollywood stars and parents of friends of hers were 20-25 years apart.

Later that day Beth rocks Judith to sleep because Rick has disappeared again somewhere in the prison. She looks around for someone who made need help with something; everyone looks as though they are also trying to find something to occupy their time. Beth happens to look up when she notices people talking in the next cell over. It was Rick, Daryl and some women Beth doesn't recognize. She looks beat up and a bit frightened. Beth wonders what happened.

"You have to stay in this cell." Beth hears Rick say to the mysterious woman. Beth strains to listen as the woman pleads with Rick. He won't give in and he walks away from her. Beth knows that Rick won't take any chances with random people, especially since he now has a baby girl to look out for.

After everyone disperses into their own cell, Beth walks over to where Daryl stands by the next cell watching over the new member. He looks up and gives Beth a small smile; he hasn't talked to her all that much since Carol was found.

"Hey" Daryl says quietly as Beth walks up to him.

"Uh, hey. So who is this woman?"

"Blunt much?" Beth just cracks a smile as Daryl starts to explain the situation.

"She was bein' attacked by walkers outside the gates. If it wasn' for us she woulda been as good as dead. " He turns around and notices the woman staring back in which she responds.

"You know I am sitting right here and can hear you." The woman glares at the two. Daryl just gives the same look right back.

Beth hears yelling and it sounds like it is coming from outside. Everyone else seems to hear it too, so they all go outside to see Rick and Glenn attempting to hold up a falling fence. Walkers are pushing forward, tripping and stumbling over themselves and each other. The battle between the living and dead is not looking too good. Daryl, Maggie, and Beth run to help push the fence back into place; Rick and Glenn then go and grab large stakes and they drag them to the fence. The two men stick three of them in the ground and the five of them push up in order to stabilize the fence. Sweat currently dripping down Rick and Glenn's face.

Once the fence is stabilized the group just looks at each other and the silent message of _we are not even safe here _is passed around. Everyone had believed that the prison was finally a safe haven; the same thing had been a thought at the farm. The group knew now that even though they felt safe it doesn't mean they are. The group trickles back into the prison, and once inside everyone separates and they walk to their own cell. Beth looks up at the sun shining through the window and takes in the warmth.

Daryl comes up behind Beth and stands beside her. They stand there for a few minutes just looking through the window. If anyone saw them on a non-apocalypse day then the two would be receiving weird looks from others. To them it was a moment of peace and silence as if the world didn't go to hell, but of course someone had to go and ruin the moment.

"Daryl you're needed in an emergency meeting we are having," Rick looks tired and worn out but he doesn't let his voice show it. Daryl just grunts and follows Rick into the so called 'meeting room'. Beth watches as the two men walk away, not a moment later did she hear a bang coming from the room where the woman is being held. Beth slowly walks over praying she doesn't get hit with some flying object.

"What do you want?" The woman looks up at Beth.

"I heard a loud crash and wanted to make sure you were alright," So that is a lie on Beth's part but the woman doesn't need to know that.

"Yeah I'm fine," She responds quickly "Except for the part where I'm being held in here against my will."

"It's just because we have let others in and they quickly turn around and try to kill us and now a days you can't be too careful," Beth watches the woman's shoulders sink down and she turns around.

"Michonne,"

"What?"

"My name is Michonne,"

"Uh... My name is Beth," Beth is confused on why Michonne would just out of the blue say her name.

"You're probably wondering why I would give my name; so far you're the only person that has voluntarily come to talk to me. "

"It's nice to talk to you," Beth responds sincerely. She hears people talking and its getting closer so she backs away from Michonne and goes toward the group that she sees as family. Beth knows that if she asks what they talk about then she will get the response of "don't worry about it." She wants to be involved in the talks they have frequently. She is 18 and does not want to be treated like a child, even Carl gets more information.

They gather around the stairs and enjoy a semi cooked meal, and there is small talk about things such as favorite foods or least favorite animal. Tonight its Beth's turn to wash the few dishes they have. She gathers them up and walks outside to the back of the building. She grabs the soap and a bucket of water, and starts washing the plates. Someone walks up to her and puts their hand on her back, which scares her and makes her jump.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Beth yells as she stands up.

"You jus' need to listen better," Daryl replies, Beth starts laughing. Daryl gets down on the ground and starts cleaning the dirty plates.

"You don't have to help, I can handle it." Daryl just does his usual grunt.

"Whatever," Beth smiles to herself as she picks up the dishes and retreats back inside. She can hear Daryl walking behind her, and then he turns left towards Carol. Beth puts the plates away, checks on Judith, and heads to bed early.

**Authors Note: Sorry for the month wait! My lame excuse is I got hooked on Supernatural 9 years after it started... Also I had a crap load of projects for school. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and hopefully the next chapter will be ready sooner.**


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